The 1936 Olympics star was Jesse Owens, an American track and field athlete. He won four gold medals in the 100 meters, 200 meters, long jump, and 4x100 meter relay at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. His success was a major embarrassment to Adolf Hitler, who had hoped to use the games to showcase the superiority of the Aryan race. Owens' performance was a major milestone in the civil rights movement and he was later awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.